Ships That Rattle Isn't Just for Show

[Cdr Voorheez]

I loved my cobra and did alot of BH in her but after last night killing NPCs at Nav Beacons (Im Mobius) Im realising I like her better than my cobra.
Shes not as versatile and isnt 'multiroled' but she has teeth. Love the fact you can explorer fit her easily and cheaply.

 

[Jeb Rocketsmith]

I honestly think the Scout could be considered more of a sidegrade instead of a straight upgrade.

It's not as agile as the Viper, nor are the shields as good as the Viper. However, it has the same hardpoints with what appears to be better positioning, 2 more utility mounts, and better internal compartments. There's a lot of room to be clever in the DBS during combat, but clever often means dead against truly competent pilots if you rely on your gimmicks too much.

But then there's also the 'quality of life' issues which often times come into play. The DBS has better room for expansion with it's internal compartments, as mentioned. It also has better jump range. I can already sort of see it replacing my Adder as my multi-purpose ship while I'm typing this, but since it's a tad bit more specialized it also sits in an awkward place... it's better at combat than a multi-role ship, and it's better at multi-role than a combat ship, but it's not quite as good in either as the Cobra or the Viper, both of which cost less. Where it will probably excel the most is in exploration, but according to the wiki the max jump range is 28.35 so being sub-30 with its internals may be a detriment.

I will have to do science unto it.

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

I honestly think the Scout could be considered more of a sidegrade instead of a straight upgrade.

It's not as agile as the Viper, nor are the shields as good as the Viper. However, it has the same hardpoints with what appears to be better positioning, 2 more utility mounts, and better internal compartments. There's a lot of room to be clever in the DBS during combat, but clever often means dead against truly competent pilots if you rely on your gimmicks too much.

But then there's also the 'quality of life' issues which often times come into play. The DBS has better room for expansion with it's internal compartments, as mentioned. It also has better jump range. I can already sort of see it replacing my Adder as my multi-purpose ship while I'm typing this, but since it's a tad bit more specialized it also sits in an awkward place... it's better at combat than a multi-role ship, and it's better at multi-role than a combat ship, but it's not quite as good in either as the Cobra or the Viper, both of which cost less. Where it will probably excel the most is in exploration, but according to the wiki the max jump range is 28.35 so being sub-30 with its internals may be a detriment.

I will have to do science unto it.

It's more agile than a Viper, or jast as agile with a good pilot in both. It has small shield's because it's not a head on fighter it's a tactical fighter that relies on the pilot's skill for survivability. That's my experience at least, if I'm good enough to not get in line of fire of other AI or CMDR ship's I tear them up but one mistake against a large ship with good firepower and poof no shield's and split second's to save the ship.

 

[Smiffoo]

I bought a DB Scout last night after watching this.

Sick vid, have some rep

 

[paganpenguin]

It's more agile than a Viper, or jast as agile with a good pilot in both. It has small shield's because it's not a head on fighter it's a tactical fighter that relies on the pilot's skill for survivability. That's my experience at least, if I'm good enough to not get in line of fire of other AI or CMDR ship's I tear them up but one mistake against a large ship with good firepower and poof no shield's and split second's to save the ship.

Might have to buy a Viper again and record some gameplay of the comparisons - while I'm not really the tactical type (the tank and spank of the Vulture has suited me fine for the past few months), I really miss the adrenaline pump when I'm darting around larger ships trying to avoid hits to the shields...

Don't know if it's just me but I spent a half hour in a High Intensity RES yet was barely fired upon (only lost a couple of rings when an over zealous security Viper rammed me). Never remember that ever happening to me when flying anything else (granted though I've been in either an Asp or Vulture since 1.2) so am curious if it's just the Scout's cool signature or did the various updates change the way the AI responds to threats.

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

Might have to buy a Viper again and record some gameplay of the comparisons - while I'm not really the tactical type (the tank and spank of the Vulture has suited me fine for the past few months), I really miss the adrenaline pump when I'm darting around larger ships trying to avoid hits to the shields...

Don't know if it's just me but I spent a half hour in a High Intensity RES yet was barely fired upon (only lost a couple of rings when an over zealous security Viper rammed me). Never remember that ever happening to me when flying anything else (granted though I've been in either an Asp or Vulture since 1.2) so am curious if it's just the Scout's cool signature or did the various updates change the way the AI responds to threats.

I believe it is indeed because of how cool the Scout is that it doesn't attract attention, because I tried doing some BH in a HI RES and was getting shot at alot more in Viper than in my Scout.

 

[paganpenguin]

I believe it is indeed because of how cool the Scout is that it doesn't attract attention, because I tried doing some BH in a HI RES and was getting shot at alot more in Viper than in my Scout.

Ah cool (sorry... had to be said. Will now leave the building and hide in the local woodland area, where only foxes and bad punners live).

Might have to strip the Scout down a bit more and experiment with low heat builds.

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

Ah cool (sorry... had to be said. Will now leave the building and hide in the local woodland area, where only foxes and bad punners live).

Might have to strip the Scout down a bit more and experiment with low heat builds.

Why, I made the same pun, it's punny...hold up do you want company.

 

[paganpenguin]

Why, I made the same pun, it's punny...hold up do you want company.

As long as you bring a bag of popcorn and six crates of non alcoholic lager... Might be flying later

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

As long as you bring a bag of popcorn and six crates of non alcoholic lager... Might be flying later

Popcorn?! Out of the question, good day to you sir!

 

[paganpenguin]

Any idea how cold you can get the Scout (or even the Explorer) without stripping the shields?

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

Low 20's. I keep a couple heatsink launchers on it to get it to single digit's when running, or if I get it to go above 30%.

 

[Cdr Voorheez]

Current spec I am running with my DBS:

http://coriolis.io/outfit/diamondba...80404402t2927.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=Wraith (BH)

 

[Jacob Marshall]

Current spec I am running with my DBS:

http://coriolis.io/outfit/diamondba...80404402t2927.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=Wraith (BH)

Still struggling to get my head around module priority but if I've read this accurately (big if) you could drop you powerplant by 1 megasomething, move the Fuel Scoop, FSD and cargo hatch to Prioty 2/3.

This should mean that when you deploy hard-points they become inactive automatically and shave some % off of your thermal sig.

It's an idea I read about elsewhere and it does work, just be sure to turn-off the voice warning though.

 

[Cdr Voorheez]

Top tip mate ty for that advice Repped.

 

[who?]

The key to beating larger targets in the DBS is judicious use of chaff, shield cells and silent running. It can be done, but you are asking the hardware to beat something that's got more shields, armor and guns, so of course, it's more difficult.

Cheers for the advice. I'm not sure chaff makes a huge amount of difference against NPCs - obviously it's possible they're using fixed weapons, or attacking from a different angle.

I'd never tried shield cells before - as I'm normally critical on power - but managed to get a 3A bank installed and working by tweaking the module priorities (and it only takes down the cargo hatch and FSD, so I don't need to stow weapons to use the shield cells - still 106% power usage!)

I'm still critical on power/heat, the weapons overheat ridiculously quick (shouldn't multi-cannons use less power, to compensate for the limited ammunition?) but at least I have lots more staying power now. I spent ages last night trying to find, and take down an NPC Conda, and when I FINALLY found him in a USS, there was a second NPC Conda in the same instance that opened up simultaneously, taking shields down and hull down to 70% within 2 seconds - so much for shield cells saving me! In a Vulture, I'd have been dead - at least the Scout has the speed to get away in this scenario.

I'm loving the Scout though, it's so much fun to fly. If my life depended on it though, I'd still hop straight back into a Vulture.

 

[who?]

Still struggling to get my head around module priority but if I've read this accurately (big if) you could drop you powerplant by 1 megasomething, move the Fuel Scoop, FSD and cargo hatch to Prioty 2/3.

This should mean that when you deploy hard-points they become inactive automatically and shave some % off of your thermal sig.

It's an idea I read about elsewhere and it does work, just be sure to turn-off the voice warning though.

Yeah, I'd always put the scoop, FSD and cargo hatch on their own, lowest module priority (so, 4 or 5).

You never need these in combat, so you want these to be the first modules to be powered down when you have power issues. If you have any other modules in the same priority, then it's not clear which module gets powered down, but it might be something like a shield-booster that's actually useful in combat, so group these together on their own.

I finally managed to get a decent SCB installed and working, with a 106% power usage, by tweaking the module priorities as above. When I deploy weapons, just the FSD and cargo hatch are disabled - no worries.

 

[Hanatarashi]

Current spec I am running with my DBS:

http://coriolis.io/outfit/diamondback/04A4A4A2D3A2D4C2727181806080404402t2927.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=Wraith%20(BH)

An alternative to using module priority to try to reduce your heat sig is to use it to improve your shields, like this:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/diamondback/04A4A4A2D3A2D4C2727181804040404402t2927.AwRj4yKA.IwBhrSsig===

You could also get a shield cell bank in there (in place of a hull reinforcement - personally, I wouldn't bother with these at all, as they add mass and don't protect your modules) if you don't run all A shield boosters. You could run a 2B bank if you downgrade one booster to E (or better, replace it with a chaff launcher), for example.

I'd never tried shield cells before - as I'm normally critical on power - but managed to get a 3A bank installed and working by tweaking the module priorities (and it only takes down the cargo hatch and FSD, so I don't need to stow weapons to use the shield cells - still 106% power usage!)

I'd suggest switching that for a 3B bank. Although a 3A will restore more shield per charge, a 3B gives you 4 charges instead of 3, and it adds up to more if you use them all. It also uses less power.

 

[parry]

An alternative to using module priority to try to reduce your heat sig is to use it to improve your shields, like this:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/diamondback/04A4A4A2D3A2D4C2727181804040404402t2927.AwRj4yKA.IwBhrSsig===

You could also get a shield cell bank in there (in place of a hull reinforcement - personally, I wouldn't bother with these at all, as they add mass and don't protect your modules) if you don't run all A shield boosters. You could run a 2B bank if you downgrade one booster to E (or better, replace it with a chaff launcher), for example.


I'd suggest switching that for a 3B bank. Although a 3A will restore more shield per charge, a 3B gives you 4 charges instead of 3, and it adds up to more if you use them all. It also uses less power.

http://coriolis.io/outfit/diamondba...4402t2927.AwRj4yKA.AwiMIzPYg===?bn=Wraith (BH

edited it to have fixed weaponry.

 

[Cdr Voorheez]

Ref the hull reinforcement packages (60/30) Are they worth using? Im thinking of dropping and getting 12T cargo hold (zero mass) and make some money from them in missions etc. Advice appreciated.